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in hockey history,” Selke said. “That takes absolutely nothing away from the Rocket or any other player. King Clancy (in the NHL as a player, referee and executive for 70 years) said it well: “If there were two rinks in Montreal offering games at the same time with the Rocket and Howe as box office rivals, Richard would do more business. Richard was the game’s greatest crowd pleaser, the most spectacular goal-getter but Howe could do more things than any player ever. And I know the Rocket thinks the same way.”
    NUMBERS DON’T LIE
    Their career statistics can be used to make a strong case for each man. Howe’s durability was unmatched: He played 32 seasons of big-league hockey, 26 in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers, and six in the World Hockey Association with the New England Whalers and Houston Aeros, which included his sons Mark and Marty as teammates. In his 32 seasons of pro hockey—Howe insisted that his WHA numbers should be included in his career total—Howe played 2,186 games, scored 975 goals, 1,338 assists for 2,358 points plus 96 goals, 135 assists for 231 points in the playoffs. In the 26 NHL seasons, Howeplayed 1,767 games with an 801-1,049-1,850 during the schedule, a 68-92-160 points mark in 157 games.
    Richard was a Canadien for 18 seasons, producing 544 goals, 421 assists for 965 points in 978 games, and a strong 82 goals and 126 points in 133 playoff games. Richard took great pride in his ability to produce in the pressure of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Of his 82 postseason tallies, 18 of them were game-winners, a record six of those in overtime.
    IF ONLY HE WERE AS GOOD AS ME
    Richard and Howe were involved in the extremely intense rivalry between the Canadiens and Red Wings in the 1950s when the Canadiens won six Cups, and the Red Wings four in an 11-season stretch. While Howe said little of his opponent, Richard could praise and criticize Howe in the same sentence. “Howe is a great player, the best I ever played against, but he should hustle more,” said Richard, late in his career. “He doesn’t seem to be trying as hard as he could. He was a better all-round player than I was, maybe the best ever. But I think he should have scored more big goals, like in the playoffs.” Howe offered only praise for Richard: “The NHL never had a more dramatic player than the Rocket, nor one more dangerous in the clutch.”
    THE ODD COUPLE
    At Richard’s funeral in 2000, Howe admitted that he knew little about Richard personally and seldom had talked with him over the years. “I never knew that the Rocket had seven children,” Howe said. “I certainly never knew what he was thinking. He was quiet man. A few times on the ice, I said ‘Hi Rocket,’ and he just growled at me.”
    In the 14 seasons Richard and Howe shared in the NHL, they dominated the right wing position on the NHL all-star team, Howe with seven first team and four second team selections while Richard had six first team and five second nominations. Little wonder the argument continues.

DOWN IN THE EH, EH?
    The Eastern Hockey League managed to operate for most seasons from 1934 to 1974, providing the inspiration for the movie Slap Shot.
    I t all started in the 1933–34 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Hersher B’ars and Bronx Tigers and ended for good after the 1972–73 playoffs with the Long Island Ducks, Syracuse Blazers, Charlotte Checkers and Greensboro Generals. The Eastern Hockey League—it had the word Amateur in its name until 1953—was the bottom-ranked minor-pro league but no circuit is mentioned more in hockey’s folklore.
    NEWMAN’S GOONS
    Even today when a group of old-time hockey men are telling yarns and spinning fables, the Eastern League invariably pops into the conversation. The EHL had an abundance of “goons” long before the NHL had discovered the word to describe its toughest players.